A chat with… Jon Howland-Nielsen

Sales and Marketing executive with over 10 years of selling and marketing within the Mobile and IT sectors

What projects are you working on at the moment?

My most recent project i’ve been working on is setting up an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) within HP, using my past experiences from my mobile industry roles. The concept is to provide 3G/4G connectivity to anyone purchasing a HP tablet or some notebooks to enable them to be more productive in the commercial space and never have the fear of missing out on the latest viral Facebook clip for the consumer space.

What has been your favourite project to work on?

My favourite project has been building a business from scratch in HP. The accessories business (bags, mice, keyboards) basically anything that isn’t a computer, printer or ink is vitally important for any PC company as it’s the area that delivers the most margin. I had the opportunity to own, grow and push this business for HP for over 2 years and loved every minute.

What trends are you seeing emerging?

More and more consumers want to be connected and the “Fear of Missing Out” is leading to the demand for connectivity on devices anywhere, whether it’s a Sim Card in a Laptop or Tablet, or just using the hotspot function on your mobile phone more and more people are choosing and needing to be connected.

How would you describe the HP in store experience?

HP’s instore experience is better than it has been but still has room to improve in the way we communicate to customer via our POS materials or how we talk about our products and services. We need to be less about specs and more about the real world needs. Manufacturer’s are also reigned back by the retailer as they want certain things done “their” way which makes the customer communication harder less intuitive.

What are your thoughts on incorporating digital/social media technologies into in store marketing communications?

I think this will become more and more prevalent in 2016 and beyond as customer continue to change the way they purchase big ticket items in particular. Showrooming is more important than ever and it’s not all about seeing in store and purchasing online, it’s about the whole experience with that brand you are purchasing or the retailer you are purchasing from.

What part do you think ‘green’ retail will play in the future of in store marketing?

I think less demand on paper for fact tag and communication in store moving to more digital elements will save wastage, but personally i think it’s the products manufacturers that will change, small packaging or none at all…less cardboard, paper, plastics means less frustration unpacking and less impact on the environment.